---
name: "Murray Grindlay"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/murray-grindlay"
fi1m_id: "murray-grindlay"
imdb_id: "nm0342426"
tmdb_id: 7260
roles: ["Composer"]
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-26T00:17:23.485408+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Murray Grindlay

## Identity

Murray Grindlay

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/murray-grindlay
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** murray-grindlay
- **IMDb ID:** nm0342426
- **TMDB ID:** 7260
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0342426/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/7260

Composer. Born in Stenhousemuir, Scotland.

## Details

- **Work:** Composer
- **Active:** 1978–1994
- **Elsewhere:** https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0342426/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/7260

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Once Were Warriors*](https://film.one/film/once-were-warriors.md) (82)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Murray Grindlay is a New Zealand composer, musician and jingle writer. Born in Scotland, he moved to Auckland at the age of 13 and began his career as a singer with 1960s bands including The Underdogs before moving into advertising music and film scoring.

He contributed songs to the 1977 film *Sleeping Dogs* and co-composed the score for *Once Were Warriors* (1994) with Murray McNabb; the pair shared a New Zealand Film and Television Award for best film score. Grindlay has also scored *Broken English* (1996) and television series including *Greenstone* (1999), and is noted for his extensive work on New Zealand television commercials.

*Sources: nzonscreen.com, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Once Were Warriors* (1994), Fi1m 82, Original Music Composer, Music — [page](https://film.one/film/once-were-warriors.md)

## Complete filmography (3)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Once Were Warriors* (1994), Original Music Composer — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/once-were-warriors.md)
- *Never Say Die* (1988), Original Music Composer
- *Sleeping Dogs* (1978), Original Music Composer

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/murray-grindlay